Hope Endures
by Kite kcc
Summary: The story of the Tataraba (people of Iron Town) and what happens after


The International Summer Schools ****

Hope Endures

A Princess Mononoke Fan Fiction

by: KCC

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Disclaimer: 

Rights to "Princess Mononoke" and its characters belong to Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli and Miramax. 

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Spoiler Warnings:

If you haven't seen the movie, then **don't read** this. This story is about what happens _after_ the movie.

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Note:

Words in italics = for emphasis

Phrases or sentences in italics = thought

***

San and Ashitaka were able to return Shishigami's head. The land had restored itself and the remaining boars had returned to the forest. 

It was finally over.

They watched in silence as Iron Town crackled and disintegrated in the dying flames. The silence was broken by the sobbing of both the men and women of the Tataraba as their homes crumbled before their eyes.

"What do we do now?" Toki whispered to her husband. "We have no place else to go."

Koroku shook his head mutely -- unable to find the words of comfort and reassurance he and his wife needed to hear.

Gonza carefully shifted the unconscious Lady Eboshi in his arms. He grimly observed the pile of iron and wood that was once their home. "We rebuild." 

"With what? We have nothing." 

Toki went over to the leper and gently patted his arm. "We have each other. _That_ is something."

Koroku smiled at his wife -- pride swelled inside him. _Trust Toki to make the best of the situation._

Several of the women who worked as foot bellows workers adjusted their short robes and rolled up their sleeves. "We should get started then." They surveyed the Ironworks from where they stood. "It's going to be dark soon."

"I'm so sorry everyone... for causing this. I shouldn't have trusted that priest, Jiku."

A collective gasp of relief echoed through the valley. Some of the women quickly made their way to Lady Eboshi's side.

"My Lady Eboshi, you need to regain your strength. Please, just rest."

Lady Eboshi tilted her head to look at Gonza. "No. I must help my people. Help me stand, Gonza... now."

"You have done so much for us already, my lady. Please allow us to return the courtesy." One of the women replied -- forcing herself to sound cheerful for her lady's sake.

"You saved us from our dismal lives and you gave us a sense of purpose. We owe this to you." 

"You don't owe me anything, Toki. Iron Town succeeded because of everyone. I didn't do much."

"And it will succeed once again." Gonza remarked.

She smiled in agreement. "We will make it a better town this time."

"Where is Ashitaka?" 

Gonza felt her tense against him. "He is with that girl."

Lady Eboshi nodded feebly. "Let me know when he comes back." She closed her eyes and lapsed once again into unconsciousness.

The Tataraba watched sadly as Gonza gently lowered Lady Eboshi onto the soft grass. The lepers quietly moved to surround the unconscious Lady Eboshi. The others went about the task of rebuilding the Ironworks -- lingering every so often as they picked up remnants of their once-beautiful home.

***

__

I miss her already. 

Ashitaka thought sadly as he was riding back to the Ironworks. He and San had decided that it was best for them to live apart. He would go visit her as often as he can and that thought cheered him up.

When he saw the smoke billowing from the other side of the hill, he slowed Yakul down to a canter. He knew he would not be greeted by a pleasant sight so he braced himself.

What he encountered made his heart heavy. 

He passed by several of the Tataraba who worked in grim silence. He saw their jaws clenched tightly -- an effort to keep themselves from breaking down and crying.

He knew what it was like to lose one's home. He had been banished from his own -- but this was different. He knew his home was still standing, but these people were confronted with seeing their homes destroyed beyond repair.

"Where is Lady Eboshi?" He quietly asked one of the Tataraba.

The man looked up at him through misty eyes and pointed to where Lady Eboshi was.

"Thank you." He instinctively reached out and gripped the man's shoulder -- a silent encouragement.

He dug his heels into Yakul's sides and urged him to go to where Lady Eboshi was. _So much needs to be done and I must help them._ The image of San's radiant face flashed in his mind. He knew she, too, was helping the inhabitants of the forest pick up the pieces of their lives and homes.

He saw Lady Eboshi's prostrate body lying on the ground. The lepers surrounding her, clutching their flintlock rifles closely.

__

Even now, they are loyal to her. He noticed Lady Eboshi stir and then open her eyes.

"My lady." He murmured quietly, dropping to his knees beside her. "How are you feeling?"

She grimaced in response to his question.

"I'm sorry about your arm."

She shook her head. "Don't be. I-- I deserved this."

"Don't say such things, my lady." One of the lepers who was close enough to hear cried out.

Ashitaka took hold of Lady Eboshi's remaining hand. "Your loyal servant is right. You shouldn't feel that way."

She closed her eyes and nodded weakly. She ran her tongue over her lips. "Please help them. You must help my people." She opened her eyes and turned to look at him, the tears streaming down her face. "They need you."

He squeezed her hand. "I will do everything I can. Rest now, Lady Eboshi."

"Thank you."

A leper raised a bowl of water to Lady Eboshi's lips and she gratefully took a sip.

Ashitaka turned to address the group that protected Lady Eboshi. "Guard your lady well. I have to go see what needs to be done."

***

He spotted Gonza first. His soot-blackened face almost unrecognizable.

"Gonza." He called out as he dismounted from Yakul.

"Ashitaka. Lady Eboshi wanted to see you."

"I've visited with her already. What are you doing now?"

Gonza let out a sigh of frustration. "We are trying to see how much we can salvage, but it seems that everything was destroyed by the fire."

"Are you planning to build another Ironworks?"

Ashitaka's question perplexed Gonza. "What do you mean? Of course, we are. That's the only way of life we know of."

"No, you are wrong. There are other ways to live -- better ways. Assemble the Tataraba. We must discuss what happens now."

Several emotions registered on Gonza's face. _Who does he think he is?_ He frowned at Ashitaka.

Ashitaka sensed Gonza's animosity. "We must make sure we don't lose our homes in this way again."

__

We? That one word shocked Gonza. He nodded and started to call out to the people. _Our homes._ Gonza smiled. 

***

Ashitaka surveyed the group that gathered in front of him. 

"We cannot build another Iron Town."

Almost everyone gasped -- others voiced out their displeasure. 

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

Ashitaka ignored their indignation. "We must make sure that this does not happen to our homes again." He made a sweeping gesture with his hand.

"What do you want us to do?"

Ashitaka turned to the source of the familiar voice.

"We must think about another way to live and make money, Toki."

"What other way is there?" One of the older men spat out.

"This tragedy happened to us because we could not seem to live in harmony with the forest. I'm sure most of you realize now that we need to coexist with nature."

He saw some heads nod in agreement, but there were still others that shook their heads in opposition.

"We have been given a another chance -- a chance to start anew. I'll be damned if I'm going to stand here and let you ruin it all over again because of your selfishness and greed."

He didn't mean to sound so vehement but he knew that was the only way he could convince the Tataraba to see his point.

"In my -- In the town where I used to live, we used to farm and sell our goods at the market. We always had enough to sell and surplus to eat."

Ashitaka smiled at the young woman who had tentatively offered the suggestion.

"This land was always fertile and the soil is good for vegetables." The man who had initially opposed Ashitaka's proposal added.

Ashitaka could see their faces slowly brightening as newer prospects were being presented to them.

***

Ashitaka lay on the mat of straws and leaves and stared at the night sky. He stretched his arms upward and sighed in blissful relief as his muscles relaxed. 

It had been a long afternoon of work clearing the land of debris. He heard some of the men lying on the mats near him complain about the blisters in their hands from gathering wood for shelter. He smiled at the satisfaction and pride he heard in their voices.

He closed his eyes and thought of San. _I wonder what she's doing now._ He fell asleep with her in mind.

***

Two weeks later, Ashitaka guided a revived Lady Eboshi into her new home. It was a modest hut compared to the large stone castle she lived in before.

She smiled and graciously accepted his offer to carry her up the stairs to her room. "You have done wonders for my people. I am forever grateful to you."

He smiled back. "You and your people have given me something I thought I had lost forever -- a home. I, too, am grateful." 

He gently laid her on the bed and turned around to leave.

"Do you have to go somewhere? Why don't you stay with me for a while?"

"I'm -- I was planning to go visit San."

"Oh." Lady Eboshi could not hide the disappointment in her voice. "Will you be gone long?"

"I'll be home for the evening meal."

__

Home. She smiled. "Would you dine with me later?"

"I'd be honored."

***

Two weeks ago, the land Ashitaka was riding through was a wasteland -- a desolate, hopeless place. With the efforts of every member of the Tataraba, they managed to rebuild their homes.

Ashitaka smiled with pride as he rode past the newly plowed and seeded fields. He could already see some green peeking out of the rich earth.

He waved at the group of young girls who were fishing by the riverbank and nodded approvingly as they showed him their catch.

He could barely contain his excitement at seeing San when he reached the edge of the forest.

She wasn't expecting him. She was squatting on the ground, planting a tree sapling; her back turned to him.

He leaned down and kissed her head. "I missed you."

She turned to look at him over her shoulder, her head tilted up. "How is the rebuilding of Iron Town progressing?"

He squatted beside her and took one of the saplings from her sack. "We are expecting to harvest in a month." He expertly dug a hole and stuck the sapling in. "How have you been?" He asked while patting the soil around the plant.

She sighed. "Unlike your Iron Town, it will take many years before the forest recovers." 

She looked at her surroundings with sad eyes. "So many trees were lost..." Her voice faltered as she spoke. "I have spoken with the animals and they have all agreed to cooperate."

He wiped his grimy hands on his shirt before reaching over to squeeze her shoulders. "We must be patient. What is important is that we are doing something."

She nodded. "I am glad the Ironworks is no more. I hated the smell of all that coal and metal burning." Her nose wrinkled -- as though remembering the noxious odors.

"The people resisted it at first, but when I made them see reason, they cooperated with me." He stood up and offered his hand to her. "I think they're happier now."

She accepted his hand and pulled herself up. They were facing each other, their bodies so close that they could feel the other's breath caressing them.

After what seemed like an infinitely long moment, they embraced. 

No words needed to be said. Their hearts beat in unison and their tight hold of the other spoke volumes.

Around them the faint rattling of the Kodama echoed through the forest.

***

Gonza was listening to the report of the head of the fisherfolk. He inhaled deeply -- enjoying the clean and pure air his lungs breathed in for, what seemed like, the first time. 

He had forgotten that such a thing existed. When the Ironworks still stood, the air was always laced with the smell of burning coals and melting irons.

"I have instructed the fisherfolk not to fish next month as it is the spawning season. We were able to trade for some salt so we are currently drying and salting some fish to store."

Gonza nodded. "Make sure we have enough to last us through the next season."

"That is not necessary, Gonza. Our crops will be ready to harvest by then and we have enough produce to eat."

"Thank you for your report, Koroku. I trust the farmers have enough tools to till the land properly."

Kohroku nodded. "More than enough, Gonza. We don't need to do much because the land is so rich that everything grows quite well."

"I will go see Lady Eboshi and tell her of our progress. Please tell Toki that I want to talk to her about the basket weavers."

***

Lady Eboshi looked out from her window to view the town below her. She smiled as she heard peals of feminine laughter coming from the weavers' cottage. She greeted back some of the farmers who waved at her as they were going home for their afternoon meal.

"Everything seems to be going well, Gonza. My thanks to you."

Gonza was standing across the room from her. He bowed in acknowledgement. 

"I ask myself now why we didn't think of this the first time we arrived here. It would have spared us so much trouble... and grief."

Gonza regarded her thoughtfully. Lady Eboshi had been a young woman with the responsibility of taking care of a motley group of outsiders thrust upon her shoulders. She managed to take care of all of them and made Iron Town prosper.

Gonza remembered how Lady Eboshi came to his rescue. He was a blacksmith who had incurred the ire of the town magistrate and was banished from his home. Lady Eboshi found him by the roadside exhausted and starving.

"At that time, my lady, that was the only solution you could think of. We needed to survive."

Lady Eboshi smiled. "And that we have, my friend."

"And we will continue to do so."

***

Koroku groaned as Toki's magical fingers massaged the aches out of his back.

"Gonza wants to speak to you about the weavers."

"Was the meeting today? I had forgotten. The ladies and I were busy discussing new things to weave out of the straw that it slipped my mind."

"I am so exhausted."

Toki giggled. "As am I. But I also feel content and satisfied with the work that gets done."

Her husband grunted in agreement. "I like things the way they are now. I no longer have to be afraid of wolf attacks or one of the bellows collapsing."

"It's just so peaceful now." Toki remarked.

"I hope it stays this way." Kohroku muttered sleepily.

Toki leaned over and kissed her husband's shoulder. "I hope so, too."

***

"Tell me about the Emishi."

"What do you want to know about my tribe?"

Lady Eboshi took a long sip from her cup of wine. "You're the prince, aren't you? Why can't you go back?"

"We are a small tribe. Some would call us a 'lost tribe' as no one has seen or heard from us for a long time. We keep to ourselves and to the traditions that have been handed down to us from generations past. We don't allow outsiders into our tribe and, for someone like me, who had to go out into the world to find a cure for the curse, I can't ever go back."

Lady Eboshi silently contemplated the younger man sitting across from her.

"I had-- have a sister. She's a few years younger than I am. I miss her." He smiled as he remembered the crystal dagger his sister had given him -- her most prized possession. It was now in San's safekeeping. 

__

San. 

"Well, this is your home now and we won't ever banish you or turn you away."

Ashitaka grinned. "It's a little hard to explain but, I feel like I belong here."

"I guess it's because you are in the company of people once-considered outsiders. I met these people during my travels and they have become my family now."

He remembered Osa's words when he fist visited the lepers. _She's the only one who made us feel human. She didn't care that our flesh was rotting; she bathed and bandaged us herself._

"The world is such a cruel place."

"Yes it is. Thank the gods, we have people like you." 

"And you, Lady Eboshi." 

***

The harvest was more bountiful than what they had expected. Ashitaka smiled as he remembered the ten ox-driven carts laden with fruits and vegetables that left the town a few hours ago to head to the market. _San, I wish you were here to share this moment with me._ He lay back on the grassy riverbank and shielded his eyes from the midday sun.

"Ashitaka?"

He sat up and turned to the young woman who was wringing her hands in nervousness. "What is it, Kiyo?"

"I -- I've come here to--" Kiyo could not bring herself to look at him. She stared down at her hands that plucked at the edges of her robe.

"Are you still worried about shooting me?"

Kiyo nodded. "I didn't mean to."

"I know you didn't. You don't have to apologize for it."

The young widow was visibly relieved. 

***

And then the rains came.

Sheets and sheets of rain beat down mercilessly upon the newly plowed and seeded land -- washing away the coming season's sustenance

Ashitaka tried to hide his anger as he stood helplessly by and waited for the rain to stop.

The river had turned muddy as the rains eroded portions of the mountains.

"Told you we should just have rebuilt the Ironworks. That way we didn't have to be dependent on Nature's goodwill all the time."

Both Lady Eboshi and Ashitaka's head snapped to face the man who had uttered the words.

Lady Eboshi's tone was as icy as her stare. "You will keep your opinions to yourself. This is not the time to talk about that. What we must discuss is how we will cope."

Ashitaka was amazed with Lady Eboshi's self-control. He had to clench his jaw to keep the angry words from spilling out.

He pulled up his hood. "I have to go."

He could feel the rain pelt down his back, but he didn't care. He needed to go see San. She would comfort him. 

He rode Yakul like a madman. Only when he entered the forest did he slow the pace.

The rain did not pour down as hard inside the forest -- the trees provided a canopy against the rain.

__

She should be in their cave right now. He guided Yakul to the entrance. 

"San?" He peered inside. He was greeted by the fierce growls of San's wolf brothers.

"Ashitaka? What are you doing here?"

He had managed to control his emotions as he walked towards her. He dropped to the ground, hands covering his face as he sobbed silently. He felt warm hands drawing him to a warm body -- felt her gently stroke his back.

A few minutes later, he was sitting on the ground beside her, his legs stretched out in front of him. He stared at the ceiling of the cave as he spoke. 

"We have worked so hard and _this_ had to happen." 

San listened patiently, hugging her knees to her chest.

"The people are worried that we won't have enough food for the coming months. If this rain does not stop soon, we are going to lose everything."

She laid her head on her knees. "I can't say I sympathize with you. I still remember what _those_ people did to the forest. But I can't say that I don't sympathize either. It must be so hard on the younger ones"

He sighed.

"If you want to stay here for the night, you may."

"Yes, I would like that." 

***

They huddled under the fur covers -- laying on their sides and facing each other. One of San's hands was playing with the hair on his nape; the other was flat on his chest, warming him.

"Don't lose hope, Ashitaka. Everything will be fine." She whispered sleepily against him.

He held her close to him -- this young woman he loved. He wished that it could be this way every day of his life.

It was as though she read his mind. "Why don't you stay with me -- forever?"

He kissed her gently. "You know I can't do that."

She nodded and rubbed her cheek on his shoulder and fell asleep.

Before he fell asleep, he whispered the words he wished he could say to her every night and every morning. "I love you."

__

Don't lose hope, Ashitaka. Everything will be fine. Somehow, he knew she was right.

***

He returned to Iron Town the next morning. The rain had lessened and many of the farmers had returned to the fields to save the rest of the crops.

Koroku spotted him as he was coming down from the last slope and waved at him. "Hey, Ashitaka. It isn't as bad as it looks. The rain had only washed away a small portion of the fields."

"That is good news, Koroku. Does Lady Eboshi know?"

"She does." Lady Eboshi stepped forward and took off the straw hat. Her feet caked with mud. 

The other fieldworkers chuckled. Ashitaka joined in.

__

Everything will be fine.

Her words were the promise of a new day and it shone brightly like the sun within him. He looked at the dirty faces around him -- all ready and willing to labor in order to make the promise a reality.

"Everything is fine." He said quietly.

****

End

***

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Author's Notes:

  1. Osa is the name of that ailing leper who came to Lady Eboshi's defense. Kiyo is the young widow who accidentally shot Ashitaka as he was carrying San out of Iron Town.
  2. The thing about Gonza being a blacksmith is my own invention. So is the explanation of why Ashitaka was banished.


End file.
